New History of the DC Universe #1 Perfectly Lives Up to Its Name

DC Comics is known for its fractured continuity, but all of that changes with New History of the DC Universe #1. This is the second time in the last 50 years that DC has decided to outline the history of its universe for fans — the first time came in The History of the DC Universe that came out after Crisis on Infinite Crisis — and they picked the perfect writer for the job: DC historian Mark Waid, one of the best writers working right now. This is the perfect book for DC fans, laying out the history of the DC Universe from the beginning of time to the destruction of Krypton. It’s exactly what fans have wanted for years, taking the many esoteric DC characters and concepts and bringing them back into the fold of the DC Multiverse.

The book is a story told by the now powerless Barry Allen, as he writes down the known history of the DC Multiverse, starting with the creation of the Multiverse. It’s a great choice, partly because Barry hasn’t really had anything to do since he lost his powers (other than scolding Wally West in recent issues of The Flash about his actions in the war against Eclipso,) but also because Barry Allen is such an important part of DC history. He’s the one who heralded in the new DC Universe of the Silver Age, so making him the chronicler of the history of DC is exactly what the doctor ordered. Waid is well-known for his love of the Flash — it was writing Wally West that made him a star — so the writer using Allen as the person telling the story of DC is fitting. From there, readers get an amazing look at the history of DC. For anyone who’s owned a DC Encyclopedia, this book is full of characters you’ll recognize but rarely read a story about, from Anthro to Viking Prince to Arak, Son of Thunder to the Western heroes besides Jonah Hex to Enemy Ace and the WWII war story heroes.

For longtime DC fans, this is a comic that will have you smiling. Waid is able to cram a lot of DC history into the book’s captions, giving readers just what they need to know about each one. I find myself pointing and smiling, calling out with happiness every time some esoteric DC character that I haven’t seen in a book was brought up. A lot of people might think that a book like this, which is just a history lesson on a fictional multiverse, could be boring, but there’s something undeniably fun about the whole thing. Waid’s love of DC comes through on every page and it’s honestly nice to know exactly what happened in the history of DC. There have been plenty of times when this sort of thing would make fans very happy — one of the biggest problems with the New 52, for instance, was the lack of knowing what was and wasn’t canon — and this is the best time for it. For fans that aren’t as familiar with DC, this is the perfect primer. I really hope DC plans on reprinting a lot of the classics that this book references, because this book is going to make people want to known even more.

The art in this book is sensational. Artist Jerry Ordway, one of the greatest writer/artists in DC history, and Todd Nauck, whose more modern animation style has always been gorgeous, give readers full page splashes of the events of DC history. Ordway and Nauck’s styles aren’t at all similar — Ordway is old school and Nauck is a student of ’90s style anime influenced art — and that’s part of the charm of the comic. The splash page style of the book is perfect for the narrative, what there is of it. Each page combines the heroes of multiple eras. There aren’t really panels, but nothing gets confusing.

The art works with the script to make this an exciting read. It can’t really be called a story — there’s no actual narrative other than just history — but each little snippet of the book gives readers a dynamic scenes of what the character do best. Ordway and Nauck were honestly the best choice for this book. Both of them have a deep love for DC and much like Waid, that love and respect comes through. Many times, when two different artists work on a book, it’s easy to pick a favorite, but each of them do a sensational job of giving readers the perfect imagery. I prefer Ordway, but I found myself loving it when Nauck’s pages came. The classic and modern art styles are a huge strength for this book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand DC Comics. The book even ends with even more information, giving readers pages of first appearances of just about every DC character referenced in the book, in a section written by David Wielgosz, from research he did with Waid. Everything about this book is a labor love from a group of people who want you to love DC’s past as much as they do. This is the perfect time for this book, and it’s an invaluable resource for DC fans new and old.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Colors by Matt Herms and John Kalisz

Letters by Todd Klein

The New History of the DC Universe #1 is on sale now.

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